I was a total delinquent on the holiday cards front this year. I came out of Thanksgiving all gung ho and with a pretty stinking adorable holiday photo idea. Then I got lazy. Then, as the boxes started pouring in, I got cheap. I decided I’d email a “card” to our friends and family, but I didn’t even make it that far. A Christmas morning Instagram shot that I also posted on Facebook was as good as it got.

But it did not come easily. Oh no.

In my experience, there are a few necessary ingredients to a holiday photo–and not all of them are easy to work with. Here’s what you’ll need next year for the perfect Christmas morning photo:

• A pretty, twinkling tree and an abundance of (unopened) presents
• Coordinating pajamas
• An ornery toddler who wants nothing to do with you
• An overflowing stocking with things much more interesting than you and your stinkin camera (even if that something is a cup)
• bright eyed and bushy-tailed Christmas morning patience

Here’s a peek at what your process will look like as you struggle to get all of the ingredients to work together (in case you need proof, this year’s struggle looks an awful lot like last year’s holiday photo struggle):

“My drink and new cup are way cooler than anything you could be trying to do.”

“I’m ignoring you. I’m ignoring you. I’m ignoring you.”

“My little sister is so cute and silly.”

“PRESENTS! Presents, presents, preseeeeents!”“This baby is cuckoooo!”

“Are we done yet?!”

“Fine. I’ll give you my cheese face if it means I can tear some paper.”

Winter break can be rough. School-aged littles are used to a non-stop bombardment of stimulation and activities all day long. Everyone is amped up on sugar and gifts and excitement and somebody (usually you) has to entertain them all. Add in the bad weather factor and it’s enough to make a momma lose her mind.

In an effort to stamp out the loss of sanity of moms everywhere this holiday season, I thought I’d put together a little survival list—because if your kids are anything like mine, they want to know what wonderful, mind-blowing fun you have lined up for them next before they’ve even finished whatever it is they’re doing.

How to keep kids busy during winter break

Make a winter bucket list

Making a list of things that you want to do can be great in a lot of ways. First of all, if you’re anything like me, it will help you remember what fantastic idea you had been throwing around before you got distracted by something shiny—and it will make sure you can still do it before it’s too late.

If you’re someone who thrives on structure, bucket lists can also be good to help you schedule out your break. Filling your schedule with activities can make a potentially crazy week seem much more manageable if you know you have a family Christmas party on Monday, you’re going to go see the Christmas Spectacular on Wednesday, and you’re baking cookies with your neighbors on Thursday.

It can also be a lot of fun to hear what your kids want to do. My six-year-old, who can’t walk three feet without tripping over something (usually herself) really wants to go ice skating. So you know what? I’m going to make it my mission to take her—even if I have no fingernails left by the time we’re done.

Here’s our little winter bucket list:

• Go to Rockefeller Center to see the tree
• Bake lots of cookies
• Build a snowman
• Go ice skating
• Give back in some way (donations, volunteering, whatever)
• Have a family movie night (popcorn and hot chocolate are a must)
• Make a gingerbread house

Craft Attack

My girl loves some crafts. And I think most kids do. She gets lost in them and sings to herself and just loves every second of it. I love it because it generally gives me a little bit of peace and lets me throw in laundry/get some work done/go to the bathroom/insert any other activity I have a hard time squeezing in with “What can I do next?!” following my every move.

I made a little list of some fun ones to make your life easier (and let’s be serious here, to make my life easier when I need one in a pinch!):

Shredded snowman
Expand on an image art
Snowmen fence
Graffiti gift wrap
Macaroni snowflakes
Paper plate menorah
Egg carton snowmen
Snow globe art project
Toilet paper tube crowns
Felt Christmas trees
Melting snowmen cookies
Science experiments

Have some things ready that they can do alone.

I work from home and momma needs to keep the Benjamins flowing in. So if I get a freelance project and it happens to fall during winter break, I have to take it. This means that there will be times during the day when I have to get a little computer work in. This also means that I can’t be the primary source of entertainment for my “What can I do next?! What can I do next?!” love. Girlfriend’s gonna have to entertain herself for a bit.

So what do you do? Last summer I put together a little boredom jar that was filled with ideas. Most of it was stuff that my daughter doesn’t do often (or maybe hasn’t done at all), but things I knew she’d like to do and was capable of doing on her own.

I made sure to include a mix of activities (crafty things like making jewelry, learning activities like finding out five facts about an animal, and chores—which she happens to love) in the hope that she’d be sure to find something that she liked the sound of. Other things my kids love:

• Play-Doh: If I have the laptop on the dining room table and put out the Play-Doh stuff around me, the girls can play for a good hour making little cakes and pretending to cook me all sorts of foods. If you don’t have any on hand, this is my go-to Play-Doh recipe.
• Spray bottles: Fill a spray bottle with water and give my six-year-old a rag (telling her to steer clear of electronics!) and she will pretend she’s Cinderella shining the castle. Give the toddler an empty spray bottle and she will follow her sister around making spraying sounds with her mouth and mimicking everything her little idol does.
• Laundry: Give my ladies some laundry and ask them to sort or “fold” it and they might just explode with excitement.
• Baking soda and vinegar concoctions: my kids love to watch the fizzy reaction when these two are mixed. I usually set them up with cookie trays, measuring cups, spoons, silicone cupcake liners, and anything else I can think of to keep them busy.

Cruise Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.

If you get to a point where you feel like you’ve exhausted all options and you no longer have any brain cells left to be creative (I’m sometimes there by day two, with the What Next police all up on my back), hit up your social media networks. You’re bound to come across something you can do. Even if you think all of the ideas you’re seeing suck, those crappy ideas might give you an idea for something fabulous.

Be prepared.

Preparation is key, my friends. I’m not talking about anything big here. I’m talking about making sure you’ve got some supplies (paper, crayons, glue) in case you get snowed in with your wild animals and need to get creative in a pinch.

Need more ideas? Check out my new post on 50+ Indoor Activities for Kids!

What about you? What do you do during winter break to keep the wild things tamed?

It’s kind of ironic that I spend a lot of my time telling my six-year old to quit it with all the pee pees and poo poos yet I’m about to devote an entire post to it. She’s so into it that she randomly inserts pee and poop into anything. You know that Maroon 5 song “One More Night”? Every time it comes on the radio she sings “I cross my heart and I hope to pooooooop.” I guess this is where I should tell you that if you’re squeamish about potty talk and not too into scatological humor you should maybe wander away until tomorrow morning.

So, you know I have a toddler. A not quite two-year old. It’s a little on the early side to start potty training–although I do throw her on the potty seat on occasion when she starts squatting in corners. If she’s cool with it, I’ll let her sit there awhile and see if anything happens while we read some books and her sister squeals about what a big girl she is. If she’s not cool with it, I put her diaper back on and let her head back to her corner.

Anyway, that’s not the real point of this post. I just want to make it clear that my girl is not potty trained. Not in the least.

But she is constipated. And I’m looking for some suggestions.

It’s not that she doesn’t go at all. There was a point a couple of weeks ago when she was sick and a little dehydrated that she went days and days without going. But things are finally moving again. Only it’s painful for her to go and there have been times where she’s spent a large part of the day laboring over it. Seriously. As though she’s trying to give birth.

It’s more than a little heartbreaking to hear your little one, who doesn’t have a huge vocabulary just yet, tell you “It huuuuurts.” When you ask her what hurts it’s either “buttttt” or “belly.” It’s terrible!

One of the things that seems to make it a little easier on her is a warm bath. So lately if she’s been struggling, I’ll throw her in the tub and wait until she’s relaxed enough to drop the kids off at the pool (or I guess in this case, the tub?). Note to moms and dads everywhere: toilet wipes are awesome for quickly fishing turds out of the tub before inquisitive toddlers get their hands on them for dissection.

I’ve also been mixing kids Culturelle into her drinks, trying as much as I can to up her fluid intake and easing up on gluten in case she’s sensitive to it.

But I’m looking for advice! Have any of you had little ones with constipation issues? What have you done to help their little tushes out?

In short, bring on the potty talk!

• for happy, healthy children that could make me smile on the stinkiest of days.
• for friends who understand what I’m thinking without me having to say a word.
• for my loud, all-up-in-your business family who would fight to the death for each other if it was needed.
• for peppermint mochas that take the edge off.
• for new opportunities materializing when they’re needed the most.
• for Homeland. Seriously. That show is the best.
• for bedtime stories. There’s nothing like warm, cozy cuddles and a good book.
• for chocolate. Enough said.
• for fingerless gloves that keep my hands warm enough while allowing me to manage things like babies and cell phones and wallets with ease.

The list could go on and on and on…

I’m taking a little break for (most of) the weekend to recharge and soak in good food and good people. I’ll be back on Monday, but until then:

What are you thankful for?

Have a fantastic holiday!

What is Thanksgiving?

It’s a day where you celebrate what you are thankful for.

Why do we celebrate it?

To thank the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims know how to live.

Do you remember the story of the first Thanksgiving?

The pilgrims were from England. The pilgrims left England hoping for a better life and freedom and built their houses at Plymouth. A Native American named Squanto taught the pilgrims where to find the best nuts and berries, how to catch eels, how to plant corn, and lots of other things. A Native American named Samoset came in peace. Today we celebrate Thanksgiving because then we can think of what we are thankful for. The pilgrims invited the Native Americans to a feast to thank them for all they did to help them.

What is your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

Coming together with my family, seeing lots of people, eating lots of different foods [mother’s note: this is a bold-faced lie. The only Thanksgiving food this child will eat is canned cranberry sauce], playing with friends.

What are five things you’re thankful for?

1. My mom and dad for helping us and taking care of us.
2. Grandmas and granddads for watching us when mom and dad are gone.
3. My aunt for letting me have sleepovers with my cousin.
4. My sister for the fact that she loves me.
5. School that helps me learn.